Grain-drill.



Patented Dec. l0, 190|.

J. L. AsHusT.

GRAIN DRILL.

(Application led Sept. 6, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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NITED STATES y ntic JOHN L. ASHURST, OF HAVANA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TOLEWIS B. ASHURST,

GRAIN- OF KILBOURNE, ILLINOIS.

DRILL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 688,808, dated December10, 1901. Application filed September 6, 1901. Serial No. 74,538. (Nomodel.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN L. AsHURsr, of Havana, in the county of Masonand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Grain-Drills, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to grain-drills coinposed oftwo frames hingedtogether, the front frame beingsupplied with furrmV-Upeners and 1oseed-drilling mechanism and the rear frame being mounted on wheels whichdevelop the force used to drive the drilling mechanism and which carrythe front frame While turning around.

The invention is particularly applicable to press-drills used to plantwheat, oats, and the like; but in its broadest sense itis alsoapplicable to planters used to drill corn.

My principal object is to make it ilnpossi- 2o ble for the clutch of thedrilling mechanism to be thrown out of mesh while the drill isinoperation, and I attain that and other incidental results in lthe mannerhereinafter explained.

The ,invention is exemplified in the structure hereinafter described,and it is delined in the appended claims.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a sideelevation showing 3o in broken lines so much of a press-drill as isneeded in the description of my invention and also showing essentialdetails in solid lines. Fig. 2 is the same as Fig. l, excepting therelative positions of parts, the front frame being lowered in Fig. l andraised in Fig. 2.

Fig. 3 is a detail in plan of the clutch preferably used in theparticular drill herein described.

The lever lis typical of the lift-levers corn- 4o inonly used ingrain-drills and corn-planters, and its distinctive feature is itsconnection with the front frame. This connection provides for a limitedamount of swing in the lever independent of the front frame, and it isexemplified by a pivotal conjunction with some part of the rear frameand a iiexible hitch, as chain S, extending forward from the lever andconnecting directly or indirectly with the front frame. In this instancethe 5o lift-lever is pivotally connected with a footlever 9 back of thefulcrum thereof, and the chain is connected with the foot-lever in frontof the fulcruln thereof. The lift-lever may swing forward independent ofthe foot-1ever and of the front frame with which the foot-lever isconnected; but it cannot swing backward lo its fullest extent withoutthe front frame has been previously raised or without raising such frontframe. A chain 2 or other fiexible connection extends forward 6o fromlift-lever l and connects in some suitable manner with so me suitableform of clutch used to make and break connections between the axle-shaft13M' the rear frame andthe drill-shaft l2 of the front frame. The con-65 nection of the chain 2 with the clutch of the drill is such thatextreme backward swing of thelift-lever will disengage the clutch; butapart from that essential characteristic the clutch and the connectiontherewith may be 7o of any desired form, so far as the broad scope ofthe invention is concerned.

In Fig. 3 is shown a form of clutch and a means for connectingthe chain2 with the clutch which I havefound to work well on the particular drilloutlined in Figs.` l and 2, and the details of such clutch andconnection are as follows: A counter-shaft is shown at 16. Chain 14conveys motion from a sprocketwheel on drive-shaft 13 to asprocket-wheel 8o mounted loosely on the counter-shaft and provided onits hub with clutch projections. Chain 15 runs from a sprocket-wheelfixed on the counter-shaft to a. sprocket-wheel on the drill-shaft l2.Clutch-sleeve 7 is splined onto 85 the counter-shaft and provided withprojections to engage the clutch projections of the hub of the loosesprocket-wheel. An arm 6 is hinged at its upper end to the seedbox, andits lower end engages an annular groove in 9o the clutch-sleeve. AnL-lever 4 and 4a is fulcrumed below the seedbox. A link 5 connects armdi of the L-lever with the swinging arm 6, and the chain 2 is connectedwith arm /lof the L-lever. A spring 17 tends to hold the 95 clutchsleeve 7 in clutch with the loose sprocket-wheel, and under theseconditions motion is imparted to the counter shaft through the chain 14,the sprocket -wheel thereof, and the clutch sleeve, while the roo chain15 takes the motion of the countershaft to the drill-shaft.

The foot-lever 9 connects with extension l1 of the tongue of the drillthrough link 10.

When the front fra me ofthe drill is lowered, as shown in Fig. 1, thelift-lever swings forward sufficiently far to give considerable slack tochains 2 and S and the runners may follow irregularities of the ground,as great as are ever met in actual operation, without taking all theslack out of chain 2 while descending into depressions. On the rise ofthe runners in riding over elevations the slack of the chains isincreased, and the front frame may rise as high as it is heldin turningaround without affecting the clutch. The front frame may be raised bypressure applied to the footlever 9, in which case the lever l will restin the position shown in Fig. 1 until pulled back -by hand to lock thefront frame in a raised position; but ordinarily the pressure is appliedsimultaneously to the footlever and the hand-lever. In the case lastnamed the slack will be taken up in chain 8 and the pull on thehand-lever will be imparted to the foot-lever and thence to the frontframel before the chain. 2 is tightened sufficiently to affect theclutch. As the raising of the front frame continues the slack of chain 2is taken up, and with the final raising motion of the front frame theclutch is shifted by the pull not' the chain.

The lever' 1 is locked at its extreme backward swing, preferably bybeing swung sidewise into engagement with a notch in a bar 18 on theframe, and it holds the front frame raised and the clutch broken untilit is released. The chain 2 preferably -runs over a pulley 3, suitablyjournaled in the rear frame. t

I claim- 1. Front-frame-raising and clutch-shifting' mechanism forgrain-drills of the class described, comprising a lift-lever having alimited amount of free swing and a flexible connection between thelift-lever and the clutch.

3. Ittont-fi'aine-xaising and clutch-shifting mechanism for grain-drillsof the class described, com prisinga lift-lever pivotally connected'withthe rear frame, and connecting with the front fraine through a chainthat permits a limited amount of free swing in the lever, and a chainconnecting the lever with the clutch and acting on the clutch when thelever is thrown back to complete the raise of the front frame.

4. Front-frame-raising and clutch-shifting mechanism for grain-drills ofthe class described, comprising a foot-lever on the rear frame connectedwith the front frame, a handlever pivoted on lthe foot-lever, a chaineX- tending forward from the hand -lever and connecting the hand-leverwith the foot-lever, and a flexible connection extending forward fromthe hand-lever to the clutch.

5. Itront-frame-raising and clutch-shifting mechanism for grain-drillsof the class described comprising a counter-shaft on the front frame,achain running from the shaft of the rear frame to a wheel on thecountershaft, a chain running from the counter-shaft to a wheel on thedrill-shaft, a clutch on the counter-shaft to make and break the trainof force-transmitting gearing connecting the drive-shaft with thedrill-shaft, a lever to lift the front frame and a iiexible connectionbetween the lift-lever and the clutch.

In testimony whereof I sign my name in the presence of two subscribingwitnesses.

JOHN L. ASIIURST.

Vitnesses:

H. G. BRUNING, J. B. FAGER.

